by Jan Drexler
“Leroy sent me in to look at something he called a TV tray. Do you know what he means?”
“We have one in the showroom. I’ll show it to you as soon as I’m done here.”
Ada finished filling the cookie tray, then led the way through the opening to the other building. Furniture filled the space, separated into different sections. She walked past the dining tables and hutches to an area filled with desks, chairs, and smaller tables for use in a living room.
“This is it,” she said, stopping at a little table shaped like the letter C. “It’s for folks to use while they’re sitting in a recliner or other living room chair. The base slides under the edge of the chair so that the top can be over their lap.” She carried it to a mission-style chair and ottoman. “Try it out.”
Matthias sat in the chair and Ada pushed the little table close. He ran his hand over the top. It was small. Hardly bigger than a magazine or newspaper.
“What do you put on it? You couldn’t work on it or use it to put a puzzle together.”
Ada giggled. “Englischers like to eat while they watch television. They say the tables are perfect to hold their cup of coffee or a plate.”
Matthias got up from the chair and picked the little thing up. Leroy had handed him order sheets for eight of these, but as he looked at the simple construction, he knew he could easily make twenty by next Saturday while working on his other projects at the same time.
From the far end of the building, he could hear Rose humming a tune. If he was going to talk to Ada about Amos, he needed to do it now.
He cleared his throat. “Can I take this sample back to the workshop?”
Ada nodded. “You’ll need it for a pattern.”
“Leroy gave me the plans with all the measurements, but I want to make sure I put it together correctly.”
He glanced toward the end of the showroom where Rose was dusting bedroom sets. “I need to tell you something about Amos.”
Ada turned pink. “What about him? He isn’t still sick, is he?”
Matthias shook his head. “He told me he might ask you out, but—” He stopped speaking. Ada’s face was a mixture of pain and happiness, and the pink had turned to bright red.
“When?” Her breath came in gasps. “Did he say when?”
“Soon. But, Ada, don’t go out with him.”
“Why not?” She checked her Kapp with one hand while she straightened her apron with the other.
“If he asks you, it’s only to prove you would go with him. But he isn’t a nice man. He’ll only try to make you look foolish.”
Ada acted like she hadn’t heard him. “I knew he would notice me eventually.”
Rose came toward them, her feather duster dangling from one hand. “What is going on? Are you all right, Ada?”
Ada pushed past Matthias and grasped her sister’s hands. “Amos is going to ask me out. The Great Cookie Campaign worked!”
“The Great Cookie Campaign?” Matthias looked from Ada to Rose. “What’s that?”
Rose giggled. “It’s a secret.”
“We can tell him now.” Ada was smiling wider than he had ever seen. “Rose had the idea for me to take cookies to the workshop on Fridays to get Amos to notice me, and it worked.”
“Wait a minute—”
Ada interrupted him. “And Amos was only there for one of the Fridays.”
“Ada, listen to me. Amos isn’t going to ask you out because he wants to spend time with you. He and Vernon were laughing about you and calling you—” Matthias stopped. “Well, calling you names. If he asks you out, turn him down. Please.”
She turned toward him, frowning. “You don’t even know Amos. I’ve been waiting for this too long to let you spoil it. I think you’re just jealous because you didn’t think to ask me out first.”
As Ada hurried toward the entrance to the store, almost running, Matthias looked to Rose for help.
“Tell her I was only trying to warn her. She shouldn’t go out with Amos. He already has a girl.”
Rose looked at him, her eyes narrowed. “Maybe Ada is right. Maybe you are jealous. Don’t ruin this for her. She’s been working too hard for it.”
She left him standing alone in the showroom, the little table dangling from one hand. Was he jealous? He didn’t think so. All he wanted to do was protect Ada from being hurt.
CHAPTER FIVE
By Friday, Ada was beginning to think that she heard Matthias wrong. Every time Amos came into the store with Vernon to carry something out to the delivery wagon, she waited for him to look at her.
She had imagined the scene over and over. He would watch her until she looked up, surprised to see him. Then that slow smile would appear on his face as he walked over to her. He would lean across the bakery display case and reach one finger to touch the end of her nose. Then he would say—
“Ada?” Rose’s voice broke into her daydream. “You’re doing it again. The telephone was ringing, and you didn’t even hear it. I had to answer it in the showroom. What are you thinking about?”
“I was just wondering when Amos was planning to ask me to go out with him. It’s already Friday.”
“Did you take the gingerbread cookies in to the workshop? They smelled wonderful when they were baking this morning.”
“I’m going to take them at noon.” Ada glanced at the row of grandfather clocks; the place where the cardinal clock had stood still looked empty. “It’s a quarter to right now.” She straightened her apron. “Will you mind the store while I take the plate of cookies in?”
“Are you going to take them now?”
Ada pulled her lower lip between her teeth. If she took them now, Amos would be working and might not see her come in. But if she waited until just after noon, all three of the workers would be eating their lunches, including Matthias. She hadn’t spoken to him since Monday, when he tried to tell her not to go out with Amos.
“I’ll wait until twelve o’clock. Amos hasn’t asked me out yet, and if he’s eating lunch when I go in, that will give him a chance to talk to me.”
Rose leaned on the display case, right where Ada had imagined Amos would be when he finally talked to her. “If he asks you out, what will you say?”
“Do you really think I would turn him down?” Ada brought the box of frosted gingerbread cookies out from under the counter along with the wooden tray she would put them on.
“Sometimes it’s better if you don’t act too eager.”
“I’m not taking any chances that he might change his mind.”
Ada opened the box, taking a deep breath. The anise flavoring in the frosting mingled with the light spiciness of the gingerbread. She had tasted one of the cookies this morning and thought they were delicious.
Rose leaned over, taking in the fragrance. “Does Amos like licorice?”
“I don’t know.” Ada placed a dozen cookies on the tray. “The anise isn’t too strong.”
“But you know it’s there.”
“It’s only a little spicy. I think it tastes wonderful combined with the ginger and molasses.”
Ada covered the tray with a cloth napkin and glanced at the clocks. “Five more minutes.”
“You aren’t nervous, are you?” Rose giggled. “This could be the conclusion to the Great Cookie Campaign.”
“I hope it is.” She looked at the clocks again. Four minutes until noon. “What if he doesn’t ask me out, though? What if Matthias was wrong?”
Rose shrugged. “Then you keep on baking.”
Three minutes.
“It is only a few days until Christmas Eve. Are you still planning to make the jam thumbprint cookies?”
The first clock whirred in preparation to strike twelve. Ada hiccupped. It wasn’t noon yet. Dat had set the clocks to chime one after the other, from a minute before noon to a few minutes after. Some customers often stopped by the store just to hear them.
Ada nodded in answer to Rose’s question and picked up the tray of gingerbread cookies. She
took a deep breath, then started for the workshop.
As she opened the door, she saw that her timing was perfect. Vernon had already sat at the table, while Amos was walking toward it with his lunch box in his hand. Matthias wasn’t anywhere that she could see.
She tried to keep a smile on her face as she walked across the room to the lunch table, but her hands were shaking, and she felt hot, then cold. What if she dropped the tray? What if she tripped over that rough spot on the floor?
Ada stopped and looked down at her feet. There was the spot. She stepped across it, then continued toward the table.
“Cookies again?” Amos said, grabbing one. He winked at her. “You’re spoiling us, Ada.”
She couldn’t speak. Her mouth gaped open as she pushed out, “Jah.”
At the same time, Amos held the soft, frosted cookie inches away from his nose. He sniffed, then dropped it onto the tray of cookies.
“That smells awful.” He glared at Ada, wiping his nose on his sleeve. “What did you put in those?”
“I thought you’d like them.” Ada swallowed, fighting to hold back her tears. “The frosting has anise in it—”
“Anise?” He pushed the tray toward her as he sat in a chair. “What’s that? Poison?”
“It’s a flavoring . . .” Ada let her voice fade as Amos took a long drink from his thermos. “I can bring you a different kind from the store.”
He nodded, taking a bite of his sandwich. “Make sure they’re good.”
Ada took the tray and started for the hallway to the store, stumbling over the rough place in the floor. Vernon’s cackling laughter followed her.
The tears were flowing by the time she reached the store. She breathed a sigh of thanks when she saw that Rose was alone.
“What happened?”
Ada shook her head and hiccupped again. “He didn’t like them.” She put the tray on the bakery case and filled a box with a dozen frosted star-shaped cookies that glistened with white sugar crystals.
“What did he do?”
“He didn’t like how they smelled. He didn’t even try them. But I promised I’d bring him a different kind of cookie.” She closed the box and started for the workshop again.
“Wait,” Rose said. “Are you sure you want to give him something else after he refused the ones you made?” She pointed toward the gingerbread cookies.
“I need to make it up to him. I want him to see that I can make him happy.”
Ada hurried toward the workshop, ignoring Rose’s voice calling after her.
Matthias had been looking forward to his lunch break and Ada’s weekly delivery of cookies, but then Leroy had asked him to come along to a customer’s house. When Amos and Vernon had delivered the cardinal clock earlier in the week, the case had been damaged.
“I want you to see how I handle customer problems like these,” Leroy said as he drove toward Middlebury. “The Wilsons were understanding about the damage when they called, but I want to make sure they’re happy before we leave today.”
The Wilsons were an older couple who lived in a duplex on the far edge of Middlebury. Matthias remembered that Ada had mentioned them, and that they had celebrated their fifty-fifth wedding anniversary recently. When Mrs. Wilson answered the door, Mr. Wilson waved at them. He looked frail and rested in a chair the entire time he and Leroy were there.
Mrs. Wilson showed Leroy the damaged case. “I hate to complain, but Bert said you would want to know what happened.”
“He was right,” Leroy said. “Whatever goes wrong, we want an opportunity to make it right.” He motioned for Matthias to examine the case. “What do you think?”
Matthias knelt down. The skirting along the front edge of the clock was splintered. He felt along the back of the splintered area. The skirting was a separate piece of wood from the main case.
“It will be a simple job to replace the splintered part with a new piece of wood. We only need to find one that will match it.”
Leroy knelt beside him, then rummaged in the bottom of his tool chest and pulled out a finished skirting that matched the splintered one.
He winked at Matthias. “Don’t look so surprised. When Mr. Wilson called and described the damage, I went ahead and made a replacement.”
Matthias grinned back at him. “I suppose you only brought me along to hand you the tools you need.”
“Nope. I need you to hold the clock steady so I can work.”
As Matthias held the clock securely, careful not to put any pressure on the stained-glass inserts, Leroy visited with the Wilsons while he worked. “Are you looking forward to spending Christmas with your family?”
“We are spending Christmas Eve with our church family. Other than that, there are only the two of us.” Mrs. Wilson sat in a chair next to Mr. Wilson’s and took his hand. “We’ll spend a quiet day remembering our Savior’s birth.”
Leroy knocked out the broken wood with his hammer. “That’s the same way we’ll spend Christmas Day. We plan to spend Little Christmas with our married daughters and their families on January sixth. We’ll exchange presents with them then.”
Mrs. Wilson nodded. “On Epiphany. We celebrate then, too, remembering the wise men who visited Jesus.”
Leroy checked the fit of the new wooden skirt, then applied glue to it and pressed it into place.
“How many children do you have?” Mr. Wilson asked, his voice sounding strained and tired.
“We have four daughters,” Leroy said as he and Matthias eased the clock back into place. “Two are married, and we still have two at home. You probably met Rose and Ada when you came to the store to buy the clock.”
“Oh yes, we did. Such nice girls. You are very blessed, Mr. Weaver. And this must be your son,” Mrs. Wilson said, smiling at Matthias.
“We are blessed,” Leroy said, then patted Matthias’s shoulder. “But Matthias isn’t our son. He’s a fine employee, though.”
Mr. Wilson leaned forward in his chair and winked at Matthias. “Then you should snatch up one of those girls for yourself, young man. Don’t let another day go by without finding a good wife.” He looked at Mrs. Wilson. “Life is too short as it is. Don’t wait to take hold of God’s blessings.”
Matthias felt his face burn, but Leroy turned the conversation away from him as he made sure the Wilsons were satisfied with the repair to the clock.
“Don’t hesitate to call if you notice anything else that needs to be fixed,” Leroy said as they left the couple’s house.
Mrs. Wilson walked them to the door. “Thank you so much for coming,” she said, almost whispering so that Mr. Wilson wouldn’t hear her. “I didn’t think it was anything to worry about, but Bert insisted that it had to be perfect.”
“I understand wanting our loved ones to have the best.” Leroy bent his head so he was level with Mrs. Wilson. “Is he very ill?”
“It’s cancer.” The older woman’s eyes filled. “Some days he seems quite healthy, but on days like today the pain is terrible.”
“I will remember to ask the Good Lord to sustain both of you through this time.”
“Bless you.” Mrs. Wilson squeezed his arm, then waved to Matthias to come close. She tugged at his arm until he bent down next to her, and then she gave his cheek a quick kiss. “Both of you. God bless you.”
“Have a wonderful Christmas,” Leroy said, opening the door.
“We will.” Mrs. Wilson stood in the doorway, waving as they walked to the buggy. “We will.”
As they drove away, Matthias realized his eyes were misty. “They were a nice couple.”
Leroy nodded. “They have a hard few months ahead of them, but their faith will help.”
“We could have taken the clock back to the workshop to fix it.” Matthias watched the fields as the horse trotted along.
“We could have. But I heard something in Mr. Wilson’s voice when he called this morning. Maybe it was his illness, or maybe it was loneliness. I felt like they needed us to make a house call.”
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When they reached the state highway, Leroy turned right instead of left.
“This isn’t the way to Shipshewana,” Matthias said.
“It’s time for lunch, and one of my favorite restaurants is down here in Topeka.”
Matthias grinned. “Do you mean Tiffany’s?”
“It’s the place to go for pie, and their salad bar is the best around.” Leroy jabbed him with his elbow. “And I’m buying.”
The restaurant was busy since it was a favorite eating spot for both the Plain people and the Englisch, but Leroy and Matthias were able to find a seat at one of the long center tables. After they filled their plates at the salad bar and had taken a moment for a silent prayer, Matthias started in on his selections, taking a bite of the pickled beets.
“I wanted to talk to you about something,” Leroy said, slicing his red-beet egg. “The Wilsons brought up a subject that Franny and I have been discussing. You know we don’t have any sons, but I want our furniture business to continue after I’m too old to run it.”
“Aren’t either of your daughters’ husbands interested?”
Leroy shook his head as he spread some tuna salad on a cracker. “They both work on their families’ farms. The young man Rose is interested in has a factory job, but I don’t think he has what it takes to run a business.” He rested his forearms on the edge of the table and looked at Matthias. “Working in a business and running one are two different things. I’m sure you’ve noticed that.”
Matthias nodded, taking the last bite of his salad as the waitress brought their meals. He turned to his plate of roast beef and mashed potatoes and waited for Leroy to get to the point.
“Neither Vernon or Amos are capable of managing a business, either. You can tell a lot about a man’s character by watching him work. They do their tasks well, most of the time. I’m disappointed by their carelessness with that clock, and they’ll be reprimanded for it.”
“You won’t fire them, will you?”
Leroy sighed, staring at his plate. “Amos is the one who is responsible. Vernon just follows along with whatever others are doing. And it’s the first time Amos has been this careless. I’ll talk to him but give him another chance.” He looked at Matthias again. “I don’t think he’ll last much longer at the shop, though. His heart isn’t in the business. He doesn’t have a love for woodworking the way you do.” Leroy breathed in the aroma of his chicken and noodles. “I don’t want my opinion of them to go beyond this conversation.” He raised his eyebrows.
